Tales of a Gutsy Uchiha
by GashNanase
Summary: A depressed NEET offs himself and ends up reincarnated in the world of Naruto. Will he be able to change the fate of those around him, or will he just make the situation worse? Self-Insert Uchiha OC. Alive!Minato and Kushina, Mokuton!Sasuke, Fuinjutsu!Naruto, Mokuton!Naruto. Rated M for vivid depictions of violence, cussing, and possible sexual content later on.
1. Tales of a Gutsy Uchiha

**Tales of a gutsy Uchiha**

* * *

"_If you had one shot, one opportunity, to make things right...would you take it? Or let it slip past?"_ -Marshall Mathers

* * *

When you think about it, it's awfully pathetic how I came to be in this situation. Both in terms of the path I walked approaching the de facto event that put me here, and how that event was carried out. I was floating, not entirely sure if I was really conscious or not, just barely aware of my own existence, in a seemingly barren abyss. So this is what limbo is, eh? If the "good book" has any semblance of truth to it, my untimely demise will earn me a solid seat in Hell. Any minute now, probably. Was time even passing? I guess without something as abstract as a day and night cycle, it was impossible to tell.

Oh, you're probably wondering what I was rambling about just now. Well, in case you hadn't figured it out, I killed myself. A coward's approach, perhaps, but I was fairly certain I'd end up starving on the street soon anyways, so I didn't really see much point in suffering. I was a jobless, friendless NEET hated by his entire family. The only things separating me from the basement dwelling neckbeard meme were my inability to grow any facial hair (and no, I don't just mean it looked bad, I mean I literally did not grow any form of facial hair for some reason), and the lack of a basement in my house. I suppose my hygiene and cleaning habits also weren't very becoming of the stereotype, either. I prided myself on that, one of the few comforts I found in life. I had potential once, but I wasted it. So, I ended up in a position where finding gainful employment was all but a fantasy to me, and I was on the verge of being kicked out of my mother's house. I doubt she'll even hold a funeral.

Well, that's rather depressing, isn't it? Not the best way to start off a story, perhaps. But it's integral, you see, to understanding my..."growth" throughout my new life. I was reincarnated. Bible apparently wasn't so accurate after all, and it wasn't exactly the most pleasant experience. Going from maybe-conscious-but-not-sure inside an empty void to suddenly feeling cramped inside a warm, fleshy pool of sticky liquid was a bit jarring. As time passed, I only had less room, and somehow managed to spend quite a bit of it unconscious. Strangely, I didn't dream much, maybe a few times here and there. I thought I saw glimpses of a person that looked like me sitting in some sort of fancy living room type area, but whenever I tried to focus on what I was seeing, the "dream" would immediately shatter. Then, the last time I had that dream, right before I was "born", the figure turned to me, smiled, and spoke a few simple yet haunting words.

"It seems this is going to be quite the journey."

And then I was sucked out of what I later realized to be my mother's uterus, and blinded by a freezing light.

* * *

I was brought into the world, or I guess I should say _back_ into it, as most babies are. Screaming, kicking, and confused by what's going on. I didn't intend to scream, but rather cough to clear the fluid in my lungs, but instead a scream is what everyone around me was treated with. It did seem that my body had some level of auto-pilot to it, as I wasn't really able to get it to do anything that I wanted. If I tried to move my arms, hands, or legs, they would either refuse or only twitch a little. The light of the room made me feel like I was having my eyes held up to a blowtorch. It _hurt_. And the air was noticeably colder than the inside of my mother's womb. Suddenly, a fuzzy, if not somewhat rough, material enveloped me. A blanket or towel, probably. I was rubbed all over, before being handed to a different person. Trying to focus my eyes at least a little bit, I noticed the person was female. My mother, no doubt. She was beautiful. Long, black hair, eyes that I assumed were just a really dark brown, and milky white skin. She smiled at me, poking at my left cheek gently.

"Watashi no musuko, sekai e yōkoso."

I stared at her, trying to process the voice I'd heard. Was that her speaking? What had she just said? Now that I thought about it, the people in the room were all speaking similarly. I'd heard the language before, I thought, but couldn't quite pin it. Then it clicked. They were speaking Japanese. I'd been into anime before I offed myself, bordering on weeaboo territory, and had dabbled in Japanese lessons here and there. I was conversational, I could ask for directions, make small talk about the weather and how work, school, etc were going for the person I was talking to. But, that was about the best I could do. I knew random other words here and there from them being frequently used in the shows I watched, but I was far from fluent. So as my mother made what I assumed were doting remarks towards me, I was left completely clueless as to what she might really be saying.

The more I looked at her face, the more I got the feeling I had seen her somewhere before. My field of view was pretty limited, and my vision was a little blurry, so I couldn't make out too much detail at once. It still nagged at me, though. Eventually, I was passed off to a large male figure, and I guessed he was my father, from the smile on his face. He also looked _very_ familiar, to the point where if you gave me a list of names and told me his was in it, I could probably find it easily. At the moment, however, my memory failed me. He had shoulder length brown hair, leather like tan skin, and a very defined jawline. He looked like the kind of guy you'd be extremely spooked by if you ran into him in a dark back alley, and that wasn't helped by what I could only describe as a permanent scowl etched into his face. Though he was smiling at me, his brow was still furrowed, and there was a tenseness to his face in general. Think of an angry Russian who suddenly tried to smile, it's honestly the best description I can think of.

What seemed like hours passed, and I was eventually taken to the infant ward and placed in a crib. Being unable to do much else, I decided to allow myself to drift off to sleep. I was woken up a few times by nurses checking on me, but I slept for a very long time. Eventually, I was taken back to my parents, who looked ready to leave the hospital. As we walked through the front doors, I dozed off once more, snuggling into my mother's arms.

The first few weeks of my life weren't terribly eventful. I was confused as to why I still had all of my memories from my past life, but didn't really pay that much attention to it. I was more focused on the fact that, for the next few years, I'd get to chill as a baby/toddler and be pampered by loving parents before starting preschool, or whatever the first level of Japanese education was. I surmised I had to have been in Japan, because pretty much everyone spoke Japanese around me. Japan wasn't a bad place to end up in my opinion, and I didn't feel too strongly about it in either direction, being disappointed or happy. If it turned out this place sucked, I could always move back to the US, or to some other place, like Britain or Canada. The things I _did_ find strange, though, were my older brother Itachi, and this strangely warm buzzing feeling I felt in my torso. I swore I'd heard the name Itachi somewhere before, and that the kid looked somewhat familiar. For some reason, I just couldn't remember though, no matter how much I racked my brain. It was starting to get rather irritating. The weird feeling in my gut wasn't as concerning, but I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something weird about this place, and that I subconsciously knew what it was, but couldn't consciously put my finger on it.

My parents lived in some sort of walled off community, and judging from the look of our house, it must've been an area for super rich people. It had a nice feel to it, the people were all really nice, and from what I could tell, it wasn't an area where much crime happened, if any did at all, because there never seemed to be anyone that looked like a cop walking around. I got most of my observations from the time I spent being carried around by my mother or older brother when they went shopping, and the rest of the time I was (mostly) free to roam our house. All in all, it was pretty boring. I couldn't read anything, because it was all in Japanese, TV was in Japanese, and I wasn't physically capable of getting up and playing with toys yet. The upside to this, however, is I had a lot of time to get used to controlling my body. I don't know for sure, but there must be an adjustment period where your soul is still fitting itself to your body after reincarnation, because I could barely get this meat sack to do _anything_ I wanted it to for about two weeks. And when it finally started listening to most of my mental commands, the movements felt pretty stiff.

So it went for a few months. My vision and hearing got better, I got better control over my body, and I started playing with things like my brother's old building blocks. I also started to remember little bits and pieces of what I assumed were an anime I once saw, and for some reason, the people in it looked similar to my parents and Itachi...I shrugged it off, there was no way that I'd been reincarnated into an anime world, right? That was just the sort of thing that happened in fanfictions, it couldn't _actually_ take place. Oh, how wrong I was.

The first definitive sign came when I was about 6 months old. My mother had taken Itachi and I out shopping, and she ran into someone I assumed was her friend. I had been able to get Itachi to teach me some things about Japanese, through my primitive sign language of gestures and pointing at language books he had in his room, and I just barely made out that someone both the woman and my mother knew was back in town from some kind of trip. My mother decided to take me and Itachi to meet him, and when we exited the gate to our community, I happened to steal a glance at a mountain rising above the buildings around us. How I hadn't noticed it until now, I didn't know, but now that I did, it shook me to my very core. Staring back at me were three Mount Rushmore like faces, each depicting one of the three Hokage of Konohagakure. The Village Hidden in the Leaves, from the anime Naruto.

'_What the fuck have I been dragged into?!'_


	2. A shocking revelation

**A shocking revelation**

* * *

_"I ignored my destiny once before. I cannot do that_ again." -Thanos.

* * *

Once I saw the Hokage monument, all of my memories came flooding back to me. My mother, the woman carrying me, was Mikoto Uchiha, my father was Fugaku Uchiha, and that was indeed the harbinger of my newfound family's demise walking next to my mother. The prodigy of prodigies, Itachi Uchiha. And that left only me, adorable, newborn, and internally panicking Rokkuu Uchiha. That's hardly an exaggeration, by the way, I felt like I might actually start to cry from the stress of my realization. I was in some alternate universe, where things were laid out exactly the same as a fictional universe from a Japanese TV show. Where people dropped lightning bolts and boulders as big as sheds on top of each other in an endless bid for the most land, the most influence, and the most resources. Judging by Itachi's appearance, it seemed he was around the age he was when Fugaku would've taken him out onto the battlefield to toughen him up early. Which meant the third war was nearing its climax as we speak. Obito and Rin might be...

No. I shook the thought from my head. Even if they were alive, there was nothing I could do. Sure, saving Obito would prevent a lot of headache later. But Zetsu could find another pawn, or just convince Nagato to change Akatsuki's course all his own. However, there was always the chance they might just survive on their own merits. After all, there was nothing saying that things in this universe were going to happen exactly as they did in the original timeline. _Anything_ could happen. All I had was knowledge of a possible chain of events. not a solidified one. Well, not solidified as far as I knew. That did beg the question, though, of how I would go about handling things if they did go the same way as in the series. Going up against Orochimaru, Gaara, Akatsuki, Madara...all of those were very daunting tasks. I was going to be educated on how to be a shinobi, I was sure, but that said nothing of my latent ability. You could only train so much, and there was only so much improvement to be made to chakra control and the size of your reserves.

I internally sighed. There I go again, getting bummed before I've even started. I had a nasty habit of doing that sort of thing. It was a bit of a hard habit to break, given then circumstances I dealt with in my old life. A clean slate offers new opportunities, however, so I would definitely have to do my best to let go of any emotional or psychological habits I had from back then. As I internally monologued, we arrived at our destination. It wasn't until now that I really took a good look at my mother's friend, and I don't know _how_ I missed Kushina's signature blood red hair. She was as energetic as the show would have you believe, and I saw a lot of Naruto's mannerisms in her. I guess Minato really didn't give Naruto anything besides his looks. Speaking of the Yellow Flash, who else would be waiting on the porch for us besides him, dressed in a casual looking outfit of shorts and a t-shirt. He greeted my mother, bowed to Itachi, and absolutely _gushed_ over me. He wanted to pinch my cheeks, but the glare I managed to muster up seemed to have dissuaded him.

Ushering us inside, Kushina put on some tea and she and my mother made small talk with Minato, I would assume about his latest assignment. Itachi sat on the floor with me, playing a game of patty-cake. Mentally 21 or not, it still was enjoyable for me, and I laughed along with him. Suddenly, I heard the words "Kannabi Bridge" from Minato. I instantly kept one ear tuned into the conversation, to see if I recognized any other words they said. It sounded like he was saying something about the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and when I turned to look at them, Kushina seemed slightly upset. If I had to guess, I'd say Minato had probably already been given the assignment to blow up the bridge. My heart sank slightly. I had still hoped there was a slight chance that I'd be able to talk before they went. If I could get Minato's ear, I was certain I could confide in him about my foresight, albeit twisting it a little. Maybe I'd say I was from the future, and was sent back by the Shinigami after my death. But as it stood now, it seemed that there really was no way I was going to save Obito. The only chance there was for that part of the timeline to change, was him somehow surviving on his own merit.

Eventually, my mother said her goodbyes to her friends, and rounded up me and Itachi to take our leave. On the way back home, I internally promised Kushina and Minato that they _would_ live to see Naruto grow up. No matter what I had to do to make that happen.

Another few months passed, and my birthday was here. It wasn't a large affair, seeing as I didn't yet have any friends to invite, and only consisted of family members. They brought me toys, clothes, and my favorite gift out of everything I got: educational books! Books on language, writing, the whole nine yards. I internally cheered, and hugged the leg of the elder woman I got them from. I had been practicing my walking, now that I was slightly older and my bones were stronger. I knew how to position my feet and everything, so it really was just a matter of my legs not being strong enough to support my body weight. There was cake, my parents made small talk with the other adults, Itachi and I played with our cousins that came. It was a nice day. I even spotted Shisui among the crowd, but he was gone before I could walk over to him. Not much longer after I opened my gifts and cake was served, people started filtering out of our house, and soon the last guest had left, leaving the house in a comfortable silence.

My mother smiled at me, and asked if I had enjoyed my birthday. Honestly, I had. It had been a while since I'd enjoyed myself that much, and been the center of attention for my family. It felt good. I grabbed one of my language books and held it up to my mother, who smiled and took it from me, opening it as I sat beside her on the sofa. We spent the rest of the night going through the book, the language getting easier and easier to learn as I practiced.

* * *

It was a couple of months after that when Kushina started to look a bit more plump in her midsection. I figured Naruto was on the way, and the thought both excited and terrified me. Combined with the admittedly limited knowledge I already had in Japanese, my studying had made me capable of keeping up with _most_ things the people around me were saying, and I could read a little bit as well. It was enough to be able to communicate on a daily basis in every way that was necessary for someone my age, asking for snacks, to go out and play, etc. I wondered, once more, if I should say something about Obito to Minato. He had recently been passed the position of Hokage by Hiruzen, which I reasoned increased the chances of anything I told him staying between us. Indecisiveness still filled me, though, and I didn't exactly have a whole lot of _proof_, neither to back up my claims of being from the future, or that the attack was going to happen in the first place. Obito was dead, supposedly, as he and Rin hadn't come back from the Kannabi bridge for the mission. However, if I convinced him it was going to happen, and it didn't...then I would look suspicious.

I continued to have this back and forth with myself, and it distracted me so much that I completely forgot there was another person due to be born soon, nor did I notice our mother was also starting to show. I was torn between happiness and anxiety once I did, but not for long. If anything, remembering Sasuke was on the way and due within just a few months helped me make my decision. I meditated on it once more just to be sure this was how I felt, and came up with the same answer. I was going to tell Minato about the attack. Now I just had to find a way to get a moment of his time, and decide whether I wanted to do so at the Hokage tower, or at his home. The Hokage tower would be infinitely more difficult to get into, as I had no real reason to go there, being barely a year and a half old, but it had all of those marvelous privacy seals lining the walls of his office. Unless Danzo had a way to override those seals, and happened to walk by and start listening in, there was no way anyone was going to hear what I told him unless he specifically spread the information. On the other hand, his house was much easier to get into. I could make some shitty arts and crafts gift for them, tell my mom it's to celebrate the baby, and ask her to take me to deliver it at a time when I think he'll be home.

In the end, that's basically the approach I took. I asked her to help me make sweets for them to commemorate Naruto's conception. That night, when Minato would definitely have been home from the office, we delivered the sweets. They thanked us and invited us inside for tea, having just finished dinner. Well, I made it here. Now how the hell am I going to get him alone? I really didn't think I would get this far, and forgot to plan for the second half. Think, Rokkuu! I glanced around the room, but there wasn't really anything I could use to make a distraction that only my mother and Kushina would react to. Suddenly, Minato stood and said he had some paperwork to fill out in his study, and politely excused himself. Maybe...

"Ano, Hokage-sama?"

Minato stopped and turned to look at me, smiling a gentle smile. "When we're in a private, casual setting like this, you can just call me Minato, Rokkuu-chan."

"Minato-ojiisan, could I see your study?"

Minato cocked his head to the side, giving my mother a sideways glance. She seemed just as perplexed as he was, and shrugged her shoulders as if to say she had no idea where the question came from either.

"Why the sudden interest?"

"Minato-ojiisan seems really important now, I wanna see what your office looks like!"

That answer seemed to satisfy him. A fanboy wanting to step inside the personal life of his idol, that was the angle I was going for. Just a curious child, looking up to the super cool adult. Minato smiled and waved me along, and I waddled my way down the hall after him. He was quite a bit faster than me in his normal walking pace, being that he was about 3 feet taller than me, so by the time I got to the door to his office, he was already inside with the light on. It wasn't anything special, a few filing cabinets, some pictures on the large wooden desk, and a few papers strewn about. He probably was wondering what exactly I was expecting, but he narrowed his eyes slightly as I closed the door behind me.

"Minato-ojiisan, can you keep a secret?"

His face went from confused to slightly worried as he nodded his head and sat down at his desk. With him staring directly at me, I suddenly became far more nervous and unsure. It was easy to come to this decision without the weight of the situation as it was playing out on my mind, but now that such pressure _was_ on my mind, I lost a lot of my nerve. I fidgeted for a bit, and he assured me that I could tell him anything. Minato the carefree jonin was no longer here, I was definitely speaking to the Yondaime Hokage at this point. He was completely focused on me, as if he thought he might miss something I said if he wasn't. It felt like he was peering into my mind. A chill ran down my spine, and I began to slowly weave my tale.

"Before I say anything, I need to ask three things of you. First, please don't perceive me as a threat. Second, keep an open mind. Third, don't tell anyone else about this conversation unless their knowing about it could greatly improve village security and you have the utmost trust in them not to let any of it slip around random people."

The air in the room dropped a good 20 degrees, at least. I swallowed down the fear that welled up inside me, and continued as Minato gave a small grunt of acknowledgment. "Continue."

"I am not the Rokkuu Uchiha you think I am. That is to say, I'm a different version of Rokkuu. I am, mentally and spiritually speaking at least, 18 years old, and a veteran of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Said war is, assuming things will still progress according to my knowledge, set to kick off in roughly 17 years. I was killed in battle, and given the chance to come back and change things by the Shinigami. I can recite a few things I would not otherwise know about to prove this to you, if you like."

Minato didn't say anything, so I took that as my cue to provide my supposed evidence.

"Your students, Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha, recently accompanied your other student Kakashi Hatake to Kannabi bridge to destroy it and cut off Iwagakure's supply lines and end the Third Great War. They both died, Obito by being crushed under a boulder after he pushed Kakashi out of the way of it, and Rin by being impaled with Kakashi's Chidori. Rin threw herself in front of his attack to prevent the Sanbi, which had been sealed inside of her by two Iwagakure shiobi, from breaking free from the timer seal used to imprison it and destroying Konoha. Before this, she transplanted Obito's left eye into Kakashi, replacing the left eye he lost to a sword wound. Since the end of the war, you and Kushina have conceived a child, and are thinking of naming him Naruto, after the main character of one of the novels written by your former sensei, Jiraiya, titled Tales of a Gusty Ninja. Kushina is the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

Minato held up his hand to signal for me to stop. "That's enough. You certainly seem to have knowledge you shouldn't, but I'm not sure I buy your story completely. Why are you telling me about this now?"

"Because Obito isn't really dead. He was rescued by Madara Uchiha, who nursed him back to health and tried to convince Obito to help him take over the shinobi world. Obito declined, and went back to the battlefield to regroup with Rin and Kakashi. Upon witnessing Rin's death, Obito awakened his Mangekyou Sharingan, as did Kakashi in the eye Obito gave him, and slaughtered the remaining Iwa ninja after Kakashi lost consciousness. He then returned to Madara and accepted his offer. Now, Obito is collecting the tailed beasts to use their power. Obviously, this means he'll be coming here at some point, and that 'some point' is the night of Naruto's birth, when Kushina's seal will be weakened by labor."

I had to give him credit where credit was due, he didn't react at all to my statement. I thought I saw his face twitch a little, but I can't be 100% sure about that. The silence that followed was suffocating, a pin dropping would've sounded like a freight train crashing through the wall. I felt a strange, frightening energy begin to leak into the air, and I assumed Minato was trying to suppress his killing intent and having a hard time doing so. I guess it's not every day someone tells you the student you thought you failed to save is still alive and now evil. I shuffled a bit anxiously as he continued to stare into me, as if he was trying to read my very soul. Finally, in a very stiff and tense motion, he stood, walked to the door, and ushered me out, following after me.

"We will discuss this in greater detail tomorrow, at my office. For now, go home with your mother. I'll tell her that you saw a crime being committed and reported it to me just now, and that I need you to come by tomorrow for questioning."

I nodded, adrenaline carrying me through the hallway. I was terrified of the man next to me. At a moment's notice, he could shred me into ground beef with a **Rasengan**, and have my remains disposed of in a way no one would ever know he killed me. Still, the cat was out of the bag now. There was no going back.

* * *

Minato's story went over about as well as you'd expect. My mother was constantly fretting over me on the way home, asking if anyone had touched me inappropriately, or if I'd seen someone touching another person inappropriately. I told her no, and that Minato had asked me not to talk to anyone about it until after my meeting with him tomorrow. When we got home, she of course told my father everything. Fugaku seemed to be mildly concerned himself, likely due to the fact that Minato was opting to question me himself, instead of having my father, the Chief of Police, do it. That lent more severity to the nature of the crime I'd supposedly witnessed. He told my mother he trusted Minato's judgment, and that if Minato told me not to say anything about it until after our meeting, he would respect that wish. That seemed to calm my mother slightly, and when Itachi came up to her and gave her a hug, telling her everything would be alright, the rest of her stress seemed to melt away. We had dinner, and I went to my roomto meditate for a little bit before going to bed. When I heard a gentle knock on my divider, I accurately guessed it was Itachi.

"Come in."

The divider opened, and Itachi flashed me a smile as he stepped in. The divider closed, and he knelt down in front of me, hands in his lap. Ever the proper Uchiha, even in casual settings. "Well, you certainly managed to work up okaa-san and oto-san."

"Gomen, nii-san. Hokage-sama asked me not to say anything until after our meeting, and I want to respect that wish."

"Ma, ma. It's fine. I would assume that, if something did happen that you were to scared to tell them about, you would at least come to me though, right?"

"Of course!" I scooted up to him and gave him a hug. Itachi really was too good for this cruel world. My heart ached when I thought of what might happen if Minato isn't able to fend off Obito. The Uchiha would still be suspected in orchestrating the attack, unless he somehow managed to make up a story about how he found out it was Obito. If he was even alive after failing to prevent Kurama's release. Itachi would still have to kill everyone, would still have to leave the village. As I snuggled into his arms, I sighed internally. I would protect him, and Sasuke, and Shisui, and Naruto. Everyone in the village, whether they were friend, family, or stranger.

Itachi petted my head gently, and before I gave into the urge to fall asleep, I looked up at him and mumbled, "Itachi-nii, can you keep a secret?"

Itachi's warm smile was all the encouragement I needed.


	3. Forming an alliance

**Forming an alliance**

* * *

_"True strength is not being able to shoulder your burdens alone, but knowing when doing so is impossible, and asking for help."_ -Anonymous.

* * *

So, I may have passed out before I could _actually_ tell Itachi anything. But now, the next morning, I managed to find time between his chores to sit him down and explain everything. He stared. I stared back. Neither one of us moved, and yet another suffocating silence had settled over the room. The only hint of sound was the breeze blowing outside the window, and the sound of our mother cleaning the living room down the hall. It's kind of disconcerting how, even at the age of 4 and a half, Itachi Uchiha could still give off the impression he was dismantling you with his eyes, and reading into your very soul. I shifted, and his eyes stayed perfectly locked onto my own.

"I don't believe you."

Of all of the answers he could have given me, _that_ was not the one I was expecting. I furrowed my brow, tilted my head ever so slightly. "Well I can't exactly prove it to you the way I did with Minato. You're nowhere near old enough to know anything of significance that someone else would only know if they were from the future. Besides, what's not to believe? I'm a year and a half old and I'm already speaking very fluently, I'm actually _walking_, not doing that bullshit waddle most toddlers do. The fuck do you think I am, an imposter?"

He opened his mouth, seemingly reconsidered what he was going to say, and settled on chastising me for cussing. I rolled my eyes in response.

"So let's say I do believe you. That means in roughly 8 or 9 years, I'm going to be faced with the choice of whether the clan lives or dies? And, in more pressing news, the Hokage's believed to be dead former student is going to come try to steal the Kyuubi in a few months?"

"Yeah, that just about sums it up. You know, for a four year old, you're taking this better than I expected."

"Oh, I'm positively terrified, despite all outward indications to the contrary."

I bit back a snort at his remark. Try realizing you've been dropped into the middle of a world that's basically a ticking time bomb. Obito, Pein, Madara, Kaguya, then the rest of the Otsutsuki. And I had to hope and pray that I wouldn't forget important details later on. "I would've waited to tell you, but besides Minato and Shisui, you're my best asset. Having you in on things will be a major help, assuming you still turn out as strong as you did before."

Itachi tilted his head. "You keep saying things like that. If it happened before, isn't it guaranteed to happen again?"

"No no no, see, time travel's a _real_ fickle thing to deal with..."

And that's how I gave a four year old a crash course on the space time continuum, based on things I'd learned from YouTube and Avengers: Endgame.

* * *

A few hours later, I found myself in Minato's office. He had dismissed his ANBU guards, activated the privacy seals and was rubbings his temples as if trying to stave off a massive migraine. We'd been sitting her for a moment or two, and he hadn't said anything, so neither had I. I had no indication he wasn't going to throw me to Ibiki and/or Inoichi to have them pick me apart, either mentally or physically, so I wasn't exactly in a hurry to get this meeting over with. If I could savor a few more moments of freedom, I would. Finally, he looked up at me and, gesturing to me with his arms apart and his palms turned upwards in a 'I guess this isn't exactly the craziest thing I've heard this week' sort of way, he told me to begin.

"Well, uh, as I said yesterday. I've been sent back from the future by the Shinigami itself to try and..._fix_ things in the timeline. From what it told me in our brief interaction, it seems Naruto and company won the Fourth War. But there were heavy casualties all around, and it frankly could have gone much better. That's my job."

"You mentioned Obito is still alive?"

"And probably currently drawing out plans for the Kyuubi's extraction from Kushina during labor, yes."

"Is there anything in particular we should know about him? Abilities, for example."

"His Mangekyou ability, Kamui, allows him to make himself intangible. I don't really understand it myself, but from what I gathered, he's teleporting his physical self to an alternate dimension, and somehow leaving an afterimage in this one that makes it seem like he never left. If you try to attack the afterimage, it'll look like your attack phased right through him. He can still see what's happening in this dimension while this is happening, by the way. This same ability allows him to create vacuum-like vortexes to suck people and objects into said dimension. If he succeeds in doing that, you're basically screwed, because the only way out is for him to purposefully eject you."

Minato's face tensed, and he let out a long, annoyed sigh. "Is there any way to counter it?"

"For you? Yeah. The Hiraishin will let you move fast enough to hit him before he makes himself intangible. You actually technically beat him the first time around, though in the form of getting him to retreat, not killing him. For anyone else? Not really, no. Kakashi has his other eye, and like I said, he also awakened the Mangekyou when Rin died, so he can also create the vortex things, but he can't become intangible. The best way to deal with him would be to have Kakashi send a few clones into the alternate dimension to hit him when he goes intangible, and then keep him busy in this dimension yourself."

Minato was writing down everything I said on a piece of paper. "Since it would look bad to have someone from the Yamanaka clan dig through the brain of a child that's just barely coming out of infancy, I won't throw you to them yet. I'll simply prepare for this attack, I can easily just say that Jiraiya found out about it through his spy network. He'll be told about all of this, by the way, and no you don't have a say in that."

He sighed and rubbed the side of his head again. He was starting to look like he hadn't slept at all last night, and when I thought about what had been dropped on him in his study, I honestly didn't blame him for not being able to. He jotted down a few more notes, then folded the paper and put it in a pocket on the inside of his cloak. With a pulse of his chakra, he released the privacy seals, and told me I was free to go. Outside, my mother and Itachi were waiting for me. She seemed a bit worried, but Minato called to her from inside the office and assured her everything was going to be fine., and that the situation had already been resolved. She thanked him for taking everything so seriously, and we started on our way home.

* * *

The next few weeks weren't really all that interesting, up until my mother's water broke. Everyone in the clan was excited, wishing her well as she was escorted to the hospital by Itachi, Fugaku, and I. To her credit, she didn't really act all that differently, still her same bubbly self the whole way there. Even when she got into her room and all settled in,she didn't seem to react at all to contractions. Once they were ready to deliver Sasuke, however...

"FUGAKU I SWEAR TO FUCKING KAMI ABOVE, I AM GOING TO PUT YOUR HEAD UP YOUR ASS AND PULL IT BACK OUT THROUGH YOUR MOUTH FOR DOING THIS TO ME AGAIN!"

I guess she didn't realize Itachi and I could both hear her.

As for the two of us, we sat in the hallway on a bench and waited. Waited. Then waited some more. Did I mention we were waiting? Finally, after what seemed like hours, one of the nurses came to tell us we could see him. We both followed her into our mother's room, and there he was in her arms. He was so...darn...CUTE! Unfortunately, due to my small stature, I couldn't hold him, but what I _could_ do was climb onto my mother's bed and poke at his cheeks. He cooed softly, and squirmed a little, but otherwise didn't really react at all. Even as an infant, he was the quiet stoic type. Great. Itachi, the lucky shit, was actually big enough to be able to carry him, so my mother passed Sasuke off to him. For a few moments, Itachi didn't really react to him. But slowly, I saw _something_ change in Itachi's eyes. I walked over to him, and tugged on his shirt sleeve. As he looked down at me, I somehow instantly knew what he was thinking.

"I promise you. No matter what, we _will_ keep him safe."

Itachi's face tightened at the words I whispered to him. He looked down at Sasuke's half sleeping form, and he gave a small, stiff nod. "I know. Because I'll die to make that happen."

If we had been paying closer attention to our surroundings, we might have noticed our father watching our interaction with a strange look on his face.

Sasuke was every bit of a quiet child as the show portrayed him as. He didn't fuss a lot, he didn't make many messes. He was content to just stay glued to either myself, Itachi, or our mother. He tried to interact with our father when he wasn't holed up in his study, or at the police station, but Fugaku didn't seem to have as much interest in him. This kind of left a bad taste in my mouth, and Itachi seemed put off by it as well. If our mother had any opinion on it, she didn't let it show. Sasuke didn't seem to mind too much, at least for the time being, and continued about his days doing what babies do. Kushina and Minato came to visit him a few times, and Minato gave me a few sideways glances, but never said anything more to me about the attack due to happen in less than two months. In fact, he'd been rather quiet about the whole thing in general. I guess that wasn't too surprising; all the foresight in the world wouldn't make a child who was barely old enough to be considered a toddler capable of fighting off an S-rank missing nin.

Before I knew it, the first day of October rolled around. Sasuke had been almost invisible in terms of causing a commotion, and had started clinging to Itachi and I wherever we went. He had helped serve as a distraction, but when an ANBU member showed up at our door asking for me, I felt like I was going to puke. They lifted me onto their shoulders and sped off towards the Hokage tower. If you had asked anyone observing the scene, they'd have said the person carrying me simply teleported to the roof of the tower. It was more like three or four well timed jumps, but even I had trouble keeping track of my surroundings when we were moving. After we stepped into Minato's office through the window, the faceless ninja vanished and it was me, Minato, and...Hiruzen and Jiraiya?

I blinked. "Umm...hello, Hokage-samas, Jiraiya-sama. What can I do for you?"

"I'll get straight to the point, Rokkuu. I've had Jiraiya looking into your claims over the past few months, and they seem to be disturbingly accurate. Much to our displeasure." Minato's words came as a surprise to me.

"I looked into Hidden Rain, and it seems Nagato and Konan really have defeated Hanzo and turned the city into their own base of operations. As for Obito, I couldn't find anything, but there's definitely a gang of rogue ninja who call themselves Akatsuki roaming about the shinobi continent. Seems Iwa has been using them for assassinations that are too sensitive even for their ANBU to handle."

I turned to Jiraiya. "So I've gained your trust then?"

Hiruzen spoke next. "For the time being, it appears that it's in the best interest of the village if we heed your words. Make no mistake, though, child; we will be keeping a close eye on you."

I nodded. Nothing less could really be expected, if I was being honest. "So, have you made preparations for the attack?"

"We have. We've consulted a few medics at the hospital, and have decided that inducing Kushina into labor early would have no ill effects on Naruto, so that's the route we'll be taking. The Kyuubi's seal will be perfectly fine when Obito comes to the village to extract it, and we're hoping to be able to capture him. Unfortunately, Kakashi has been unable to produce any abilities that resemble the Mangekyou one you described, so I'll be going into battle alone."

This was...unexpected. If they induce labor early, Naruto won't become Kurama's jinchuuriki. That could present a whole host of issues down the line, his strength is what carried Team Seven through a lot of dangerous situations. Without it...

"I'm not so sure that's the best course of action." I chose my words carefully.

"Obito's attack resulted in the Kyuubi's release, but it was successfully broken free from his control. It was then sealed within Naruto, and the resulting strength he received from being made its jinchuuriki had a huge effect on the Fourth War, and other key events throughout his life. Without that strength, I'm not sure how these events might play out differently. If you're insistent on going with the early labor method, I'd strongly suggest still transferring the Kyuubi from Kushina to Naruto. As an Uzumaki, she should survive the extraction just fine."

The three of them exchanged glances. No words were said, it was a conversation held in silence with only gestures and small changes in facial expression. Finally, they turned to me again and Minato agreed to run the suggestion by the village elders. They dismissed me after that, and the same ANBU member that brought me in appeared to escort me home.

* * *

Naruto Namikaze was born a healthy 7 pounds on October 5th to his parents, Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze. The village elders agreed to have Kurama transferred from Kushina to Naruto, and the transfer seemingly went off without a hitch. He was an energetic bundle of joy, even at just a few days of age, and I was glad to know that things were going to be okay. He wouldn't grow up as an orphan, the Uchiha wouldn't be suspected as having released the Kyuubi on their own, and Itachi wouldn't have to kill anyone. Now we just have to try and deal with Obito...

* * *

_**POV Change: Minato**_

The Yondaime Hokage had seen many things in his relatively short life. He'd been born in the tail end of the Second Great Shinobi War, seen the aftermath of it all, and even had to participate in the Third War himself. He'd loved, he'd lost, he'd achieved a great many things. But nothing prepared him for the revelation that his wife's best friend's son was a time traveler, nor was he ready to hear that child reveal to him that his assumed dead student Obito Uchiha was alive and well. Not only that, but he was now operating under the identity of the infamous Madara Uchiha, helping the real Madara to bring about the end of the shinobi world. The past few months since his revelation have been...tiring for Minato. He immediately confided in his predecessor, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and his former teacher, Jiraiya. Jiraiya immediately offered to use his intricate spy network to check the child's claims, and Minato agreed. None of them were ready for the claims to be proven true, for the most part at least.

Minato lost many hours of sleep. He went days without eating, fretting over his wife and unborn child. All of the fearing, planning, checking and rechecking those plans had led him to this moment. The sun had just dipped below the horizon, casting a purple hue over the citizens of Konohagakure on the evening of October 10th. If Rokkuu was to be believed, Obito would be arriving at any moment. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked back to see his former student, Kakashi Hatake, standing behind him in his office.

"Penny for your thoughts, Sensei?"

"Oh, if I tried to lay them all out here and now, we might be here for a few days."

Kakashi let out a small hum of acknowledgement. The amount of respect he felt towards the man before him was immeasurable. Minato stepped in as his father figure after his biological father, Sakumo Hatake, legendary White Fang of Konoha, committed suicide. He owed Minato a great many things, perhaps even his life. Kakashi couldn't deny that he had stared longingly at the sword his father left him a few times himself. Wondering if it would hurt that badly to just...send it through his own chest. Minato quelled those thoughts, however, and served as an anchor for Kakashi. He could tell Minato anything, and trust the man to give him the best advice he could muster. He had more than earned the title of Fourth Hokage.

"You're worried about him, aren't you?"

Minato gave Kakashi a sideways glance, turning back to looking out at the village. "Of course. I might not have known him for very long, but I still felt a connection with Obito. I felt bad for him, and when he needed me most, I wasn't there for him. I failed him. Now he's been brainwashed by one of the most powerful shinobi in our people's history to do their bidding, help them destroy the world. Madara's promising him power, and if Rokkuu is right, has delivered on that promise. What did I ever offer Obito? How good of a job did I do delivering on those promises?"

Kakashi's jaw tightened. Regardless of how tragic Obito's situation was, he wouldn't listen to Minato call himself a failure. Deep down, underneath all of the sadness at failing his teammate, the thought that Obito was making Minato doubt himself made Kakashi's blood boil.

"We'll get him back, Sensei. I promise."

If only it were that easy.

A few hours later, the ninja maintaining the barrier around the village sent out the alert that someone unidentified had just entered the village. Minato and Kakashi rushed to the outskirts of the village, two Anbu teams flanking them from the rear. In mere moments, an explosion pierced the air, followed by a column of flames shooting into the sky near the western gate. "There! Owl, Dog, Rabbit, go around the left! Eagle, Boar, Cat, the right! Kakashi and I will charge him head on!" Minato was in full battle mode now, barking orders to the ANBU agents.

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" And they were gone. Kakashi and Minato charged from rooftop to rooftop, invisible to the naked eye due to sheer speed. When Minato arrived at the scene of the explosion, the stench of burning flesh hit him like a tidal wave. Two Akimichi were on the ground, burnt to a crisp. And standing a few feet away, Obito Uchiha glared at him through the single eyehole in his mask.

"Ho? Yondaime-sama, I'm surprised you're not with your wife during her birth. She also wasn't at the location my spies had given me. Quite unusual, but a minor setback at worst. I'll be relieving you of the Kyuubi, and then I'll be on my way. Now, where is she?"

Minato drew two of his three-pronged kunai from his jacket pockets and narrowed his eyes. "Obito, cut the act. We know it's you. Both Kushina and the Kyuubi are safe, outside of the village. We knew you were coming, and induced labor a few days early."

The masked figure froze, only turning his head slightly to acknowledge Kakashi who arrived a few seconds later, headband already lifted to reveal his Sharingan. "Obito, I don't know what Madara or whoever told you to get you to join him, but this ends now! Surrender quietly, and come with us. You can still come back to the village, things can still go back to how they were! You don't have to follow Mardara's vision of casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi!"

Obito started to chuckle softly, quickly progressing into full blown maniacal laughter. He placed a hand on his forehead, head tilted back as he continued to howl to the moon like a deranged wolf. As quickly as the hysterical fit had started, it was over, and Obito was once again staring them down. "I have no interest in coming back to this forsaken village. Madara has opened my eyes to the atrocities of this world. Rin's death made me realize, this world is an endless cyclical hell! There's no saving it, the only solution is to destroy everything and start anew! A world without shinobi, without chakra! THAT is the world I envision, and nobody, even Madara, will stand in my way! If you won't give me the Kyuubi willingly, then I'll take it by force."

Obito lunged at Minato, who struck out at Obito's forehead with his kunai. True to Rokkuu's testament, the knife seemingly phased right through Obito's head, and soon his entire body began passing through Minato. Minato let the kunai fly out of his hand, and just as Obito turned and started to open a Kamui portal, Minato teleported to safety. "So, you really can phase through objects with your Mangekyou. This'll be a battle of speed, then, it seems."

Obito's eye narrowed. "Where have you been getting your information? How did you even know I was coming here tonight?"

He ducked as Kakashi's hand zipped by him, screeching with the lightning chakra of a **Raikiri**. "That's not important. What's important is that we know all of your tricks! I awakened the Mangekyou in this eye you gave me that night as well. There are shadow clones waiting in that parallel dimension to attack you whenever you try to slip into it. It's over Obito, the battle was decided before it even began." Kakashi knew he was bluffing, as he hadn't been able to trigger the Mangekyou despite having awakened it. But Obito didn't know that.

Obito started to weigh his options. '_They somehow knew I was coming, and know the trick to my Kamui. Minato's Hiraishin lets him teleport to safety before I can pull him in, and if Kakashi's telling the truth, I can't go intangible too many times. Even if he's lying, the chances of me actually winning here are slim. The Kyuubi's not even here anymore. It would probably be best to make a hasty retreat..."_

Obito slipped into a taijutsu stance. He lunged at Kakashi, who moved to meet him head on, Raikiri sparking to life around his hand. As Kakashi's hand made contact with Obito's cloak, it started to slip through him, followed by his whole body. Taking advantage of the distraction, Obito opened a Kamui portal and started sucking himself into it. "As much as I'd love to stay, without the Kyuubi here, there's little reason for me to. Our paths will cross again, I'm sure, but for now I must bid you both farewell." And with that, he was gone.

* * *

After a long meeting with the entirety of ANBU, the village elders, and Danzo Shimura, Minato had informed everyone worth informing of the current situation. ANBU had been given a kill on sight order, should they encounter Obito during any missions. All in all, the night was less eventful than Minato was expecting. Not that he was necessarily complaining about that, it just felt like he massively over prepared. With a drawn out sigh, he relaxed into the chair at his desk, feeling almost half a year of tension melt away in an instant. Suddenly, a soft knock came from the door, and before he could say anything it had opened. Hiruzen Sarutobi strolled in, nonchalant as could be, and took his place in one of the guest chairs. The two sat in silence for a few moments, Minato too tired to start a conversation, and Hiruzen willing to let him have his peace, opting to instead light his signature pipe. After the smell of tobacco started to irritate him somewhat, Minato opened his eyes again and addressed his predecessor.

"Sarutobi-sama. What can I do for you?"

"Please, Minato. Call me Hiruzen. You and I are one and the same now! We've both donned the hat at some point in our lives, let us do away with unnecessary formalities."

"Fine, then. Hiruzen. Did you need something?"

Hiruzen puffed his pipe once more, before grunting non-noncommittally. "Yes. Rokkuu told us that Danzo used Obito's little excursion as a platform to orchestrate the Uchiha massacre in the original timeline. I'm here to advise you to keep your ear close to the ground. Though you believe ROOT to be disbanded, I did once as well. And we all know how that turned out."

"I feel no emotional attachment towards Danzo. His head will be on my desk the second I hear any indication of treason, no exceptions. If 1,000 of Iwa's men stood no chance against me, I doubt a few of his brainwashed zombies will."

Hiruzen let out a hearty laugh. "Is that an iota of pride I hear, Mr. Flash? Coming from you, of all people?"

Minato waved his hand dismissively. "I'm allowed a little cockiness now and then. To be honest, I'm kind of disappointed that tonight didn't last as long as even Rokkuu was expecting. I've missed the battlefield, and haven't really gotten a chance to show off to any of the other villages. Remind them _why_ you chose me as the Yondaime."

Hiruzen shook his head, a slight smile still occupying his lips. "Fair enough. Don't seek trouble too eagerly, though, Minato. It has a funny way of giving you exactly what you ask for."

And so the night continued, with two colleagues chatting their way into the depths of night. Had they been paying close enough attention, they might have heard the tapping of a cane echoing throughout the halls as its owner walked away from the door to the Hokage's office.


	4. Preparing for the future

**Preparing for the future**

* * *

_"Even if it's as an obstacle for you to overcome, I'll always be here for you. That's my job as your older brother."_ -Itachi Uchiha

* * *

MileyTheARMYOtaku: Thanks for the support! Rokkuu is a boy, I didn't feel comfortable writing a female character as I, myself, am not female. I probably did mistype something in one of the previous chapters, my bad. I'll go back and proofread it again.

Guest: As Peter Griffin might say...perhaps. As for the rebellion, I've got four scenarios in mind, but I'm not sure which one I want to roll with just yet. If the rebellion even happens, it'll be in a couple of chapters, so I kind of need to figure that out, eh?

* * *

**8 years later**

"Again."

I internally cursed, standing upright from my bent over position, despite my body's objection at the movement. It was hot, and very humid, not assisted at all by the particular training I was doing. My mop of midnight black hair was caked to my forehead by a thin film of sweat, which I begrudgingly wiped away as it started to drip into my eyes. Acting on total muscle memory at this point, I once again began to weave the all too familiar set of hand seals. Snake, ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger...

"**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**"

As I weaved the hand seals and chanted the name of the technique, I filled my lungs with chakra, moulding and igniting it before screaming out a hellish blaze that stung my lips with its ferocity. For the third time in a row, the flames successfully bent to my will, and expanded to form into a large spherical shape, rapidly charging towards the center of the lake in front of me. I held the jutsu, one second, two seconds, three. My lungs began to noticeably protest my actions, my chakra reserves backing them up with gusto. Finally, the man standing next to me silently raised a hand, signaling for me to release the jutsu. This time, I collapsed entirely, my knees hitting the wooden boards of the dock we stood on with a loud _thunk_.

"How...the hell...did you manage this at _eight years old_?"

Itachi smiled down at me and gave a half assed shrug of his shoulders. I would've punched him in the shin if I actually believed the attempted blow would find its target, and had the energy to lift my arm. He helped me sit up, with my back to one of the support beams for the dock. A water canteen was offered, which I gladly snatched from his hands and opened, gulping down the contents. It was three fourths of the way full when I opened it...and empty when I handed it back. We sat for a few moments, before I found the strength to turn my head and speak.

"So. What do you think?"

"You're definitely getting better at shaping the flames, which means your chakra control is improving considerably. Your reserves still leave a bit to be desired though. That'll come in time, however, so I wouldn't worry about it too much right now. For the time being, I'd say you're ready to move on to **Hosenka**."

I breathed a small sigh of relief. **Hosenka no Jutsu**, or Phoenix Flower as some of you may know it, is much easier to perform than Grand Fireball. Less fire, means less chakra, means easier to control. My cup of tea, at the moment. Itachi and I have been training for a few weeks at this point. We had intended to start my training much earlier, last year in fact, but father was putting so much pressure on him to climb the shinobi ranks that he didn't have time for much else. Now, he'd managed to become a Chuunin _and_ a member of ANBU (the first non-Jonin ANBU member in the history of the organization, as a matter of fact), so father seemed to be satisfied for the time being. That being said. Nothing of major significance really happened since the night of Obito's attack. The only major event was Hinata's attempted kidnapping, but Minato quickly put an end to any attempts Kumo made at getting Hiashi or Hizashi to offer their heads, instead making quick work of A's personal escorts. After a dismissal of the treaty, Minato gave him a kind reminder that if he, or anyone from his village, was caught anywhere inside Land of Fire's borders again, he would personally retrieve their head. That seemed to shut A right up, and he left in the middle of the night without another word.

So Neji's dad's alive, dunno if that'll make him less of a prick or not (spoiler alert: not really), but it's nice to see that at least one positive change has occurred other than Minato and Kushina still being alive. And speaking of them, Naruto seems to be doing much better than he was at this age in the original timeline. It seems having parents around actually does have a noticeable effect on your mental and general wellbeing. Who knew? Both he and Sasuke are doing great in the academy, and they're already starting to develop a semblance of friendship. It warmed my heart to see it happening, to see both of them _happy_. However, all good things must eventually come to an end, and that time was quickly approaching for me. I was set to graduate from the academy next year, and I would begin my "serious" training after that. I was planning on requesting that I get a one on one mentor, as opposed to being placed on a Genin squad, then seeing if I could stay a Genin until Team Seven was formed and get placed with them. I'd still be a Genin at the age where most people would be considered to have gone from rookie Chuunin to a full fledged one, but the upside is I'd be able to get more hands on with the main events of the timeline. Zabuza, Orochimaru's infiltration of the Chuunin exams, and so on.

As Itachi and I made our way back to the house, I continued to ponder what route I would go down once I graduated. If I got approved to train with a one on one mentor, I might ask Itachi to do it. Then again, Kakashi, Gai, or even Shisui might be better suited. Kakashi knows more ninjutsu, can open at least the first gate and perform the **Primary Lotus**, so that covers taijutsu, and although he might not be able to teach me much about _Sharingan_ genjutsu (despite having one), I'm sure he could teach me about hand seal based genjutsu. The clan would cry sacrilege if they knew one of their family members was using hand seal genjutsu, but something tells me relying on the Sharingan wouldn't be the best idea. Never know what could go wrong.

Shisui is touted as one of the clan's best genjutsu users, both in terms of hand seal and Sharingan based techniques. His ninjutsu also isn't anything to sneeze at, after all, he did make a name for himself by turning the E-rank **Shunshin** technique into his deadliest. On that same note, his taijutsu is part of why his proficiency with the jutsu makes him so deadly. Being able to zip in and out of close combat range and deal devastating strikes each time is definitely useful. Just ask Minato.

And then there's Gai. Dubbed by Madara Uchiha himself to be the strongest taijutsu user to have ever lived up until their battle. He knows the summoning jutsu, but not much else, so he'd be teaching me the **Eight Gates Release Formation** pretty exclusively. Not that that's a bad technique to have under your belt or anything, but the amount of training required for it is pretty crazy. Even if Lee or Gai wanted to learn ninjutsu or genjutsu, I don't think they'd have had time, given how much they had to work out to keep their bodies in shape. If I were to tackle the gates, I'd probably stop at the third gate. At that point, I could use both Lotus techniques and have a pretty considerable increase in strength and speed.

By the time we walked into our house, I wasn't any closer to making a decision. Setting those thoughts aside for the time being, I braced myself for impact as an 8 year old Sasuke tackled me. "Rokkuu-nii, Itachi-nii, okaeri!"

I hugged him tightly, ruffling his hair in the process. He squawked in protest, quickly combing his fingers through the gravity-defying mess to fix it. Not that I really did anything to mess it up. Itachi, taking advantage of the distraction, walked up to Sasuke and jabbed him in the forehead with his index and middle fingers. "Okaa-san, tadaima."

Mikoto Uchiha, despite the fact that she was technically my mother now, was still the definition of beauty in my eyes. It honestly made me kind of proud to say she was my mother. She conducted herself with all the refinement and grace of a classy rich person, without any of the stuck up, snooty attitude you might expect from such a person. Anyone who walked through her door was family in her eyes, be they rich, poor, loud or quiet. As she walked into the foyer from the living room, she patted Sasuke's head, and gave both Itachi and I a radiant smile. "Okaeri, boys."

Sasuke blushed a little, but still nuzzled against her hand nonetheless. Total mama's boy. Though you can't really blame him, Fugaku's just as much of a prick as he was in the manga/anime. He barely even acknowledges Sasuke's existence, made time for me to ask how my training and schooling was going, and _gushed_ over Itachi. Though, that relationship was starting to become strained as well. Itachi and I had both started calling him on his bullshit, wondering why he couldn't manage to make time for Sasuke. Itachi could operate independently just fine, and would stick to his convictions regardless of what our parents thought of them. His reward would be the sense of satisfaction he got from seeing things unfold the way he planned, and for him, that was fine. Same with me, I'd long grown accustomed to receiving little to no attention from my family in my past life. I was here on a mission, and that mission wasn't to be doted on by mommy or daddy dearest. It was to save this chunk of rock hurtling through an empty void.

Sasuke, though, very much depended on validation from our mother and father, and leaned on them and us, his brothers, for emotional support. He was very insecure about his inability to match Itachi's abilities, and wanted nothing more than to please people. I think this is why he broke so heavily after the massacre happened; the comparison to Itachi had been magnified ten fold in his mind. And the people that had been there to reassure him that he was a fine shinobi all his own were no longer there. Nobody was telling him he was doing okay, and then when Orochimaru came and put thoughts into his head that he _wasn't_ doing okay, but that he could be doing okay if he trained under Orochimaru, thatwas the straw that broke the camel's back. Even moreso when Itachi incapacitated him in less than 30 seconds. If only he knew he was one of the two most powerful shinobi since Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.

Our mother ushered us into the dining room, where she was beginning to set out the food she prepared for lunch. Fugaku had already taken his plate into his study, apparently uninterested in spending time with his family. What a pretentious cunt. We sat down, and began to help ourselves to the onigiri and sandwiches laid out before us. If there's one thing I love about living here, it's _gotta_ be the food. By far the best cooking I've ever had, and my family in my previous life weren't exactly culinary slouches. We ate, we talked. Sasuke, about how school is going. He's getting ready to wrap up his second year, and they were going over everything they'd learned throughout the year one last time. First years, for reference, learn about mostly normal school stuff. Math, history, science, language, and so on. Second years continue this, but they also start to learn about chakra theory, and how the body functions with it and is built around it. Next year, he'll start with taijutsu training and how to access his own chakra reserves, fourth year will see the end of the "traditional" school subjects at around the time that would be considered the end of the first semester in most real world western countries, and the beginning of applying chakra theory to actually channeling and moulding chakra. Fifth year students start learning how to handle kunai and shuriken, and sixth year students, the last year of the academy, learn how to perform the substitution, transformation, and clone jutsus, as well as the last of the Konoha standard taijutsu style. Their final exam is displaying proficiency with those three jutsu, and being able to manage a 5 minute spar with a chuunin instructor without being defeated.

Uchiha start training in the clan taijutsu style after their eighth birthday usually, unless they've made the decision to stay civilian. Sasuke was taking to the training rather well, and I'd mastered the style a few months prior, and was cleared to cease all formal training by Fugaku and the clan elders. I still trained with Itachi and Shisui, to keep myself up to snuff, but other than that I was pretty much done with clan training. Besides the fire release jutsu we're expected to perform in the coming of age celebration after we become genin, that is. Sasuke was pestering Itachi and I to help him train in using the **Goukakyuu no Jutsu**, but Itachi refused, saying he's too young. I would help him, since I know he learned it at this age originally anyways, but I'm not skilled enough in using it myself to be teaching it to anyone.

Mother asked Itachi and I how our training was going, and I told her Itachi felt I was proficient enough with **Goukakyuu** to move on to **Hosenka no Jutsu**. She seemed thrilled that I was making progress, which made me blush a little at the praise. I still wasn't that good at accepting compliments, even after being in this world for 10, very soon to be 11 years. '_I wonder why that is..._'

Itachi said the he and Shisui had been doing field simulations together to help Itachi be better prepared on his ANBU missions. He hinted at the possibility of Shisui and some of his teammates giving him his Jonin exam soon, which our mother clearly picked up on. She congratulated him, to which he gave a silent nod and a small smile. After we finished eating and cleaning up, Itachi said he was going to meet Shisui, and excused himself. Sasuke seemed a bit deflated by this, probably hoping he could pester Itachi into teaching him something. I ran my hand through his hair in a sweeping motion and waved him towards the back door. "C'mon, runt, show me how much progress you've been making in your taijutsu."

His eyes lit up somewhat, and he hurriedly followed me out to the backyard, mother calling after us to be careful and not get too hurt. Standing in the middle of the yard, we both formed the seal of confrontation, and whereas Sasuke slipped into the stance the elders had been drilling into his head, I remained in an upright position, hands in my pockets. Sasuke looked confused by this, and didn't move, apparently waiting for me to take my stance. I didn't. After a few more moments, I raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to attack me?"

"But you're not in your stance!"

I sighed, having already moved behind him and knocked him to the ground. I pinned his arms behind his back in a chicken wing fashion, knee pressed into the center of his back. "See? You were in stance, and I still managed to take you down in less than 10 seconds. Stance isn't everything, little bro. Out on the battlefield, you think you'll have time to 'slip into proper formation'? No, you'll have to just start swinging."

Sasuke hufed at being taken down so easily. I released him and stood, walking back over to my position. "That's another strike. You didn't take advantage of me having my back turned and try to attack."

"It's not fun if you play dirty." Sasuke's complaint slightly irritated me.

"This isn't about _fun_, Sasuke. I'm teaching you how to survive. You've no idea what kind of things are waiting for you beyond that gate. Even I don't fully know what a real field mission might entail, but I've got a good idea. Being a ninja is 90% fighting dirty, 10% pure skill. You use your environment to your advantage. Throw dirt in their eyes, kick them in the balls, if they have any. There's no rules to war in this world, and although a declaration may not have officially been given, we _are_ at war. Every day in this world is a day of war, and it's survival of the fittest. Are you fit?"

"Uh, yeah.."

"I can't hear you!"

"Yes, nii-san!"

"Good. Then hit me with everything you've got!"

* * *

The problem with the Uchiha taijutsu style being taught to academy students is the fact that they usually don't have their Sharingan. The clan style is _heavily_ reliant on the Sharingan, for its ability to increase spatial awareness and speed of perception. When you use the Sharingan after fully evolving it to three tomoe, it apparently really does look as if time has slowed down. Things that you wouldn't have even seen happening before start occurring at a seemingly every day running pace. Our clan taijutsu style capitalizes on this in many ways, to make the most use of it. However, for someone who doesn't have the Sharingan, it doesn't work _quite_ as well. For someone who's just started learning the style, and is only eight years old, meaning they deal with all of the physical deficiencies that come along with that...well, to put it nicely, the style sort of just falls apart.

"Again!"

Sasuke charged me once more, trying to weave from side to side to trip me up and break through my defense. It didn't work. I quickly lashed out with a jab as soon as he was close enough, catching him right in the sternum and sending him to the ground. He wheezed a little, and I knelt down to offer him my hand and help him up. Instead, what i got was a handful of dirt to the face. At least he was taking my advice to heart, I suppose. A foot connected solidly with the side of my head, and while it wasn't painless, it certainly wasn't enough to knock me over. Without even moving to wipe the dirt from my eyes, I grabbed his leg and hefted him into the air, swinging him in a large arc before slamming him into the ground. Taking a second to clean my face, I crossed my arms over my chest and looked down expectantly. Sasuke was panting softly, still recovering. "I let my guard down, and you took advantage of the opportunity. Nicely done. You still have a long way to go, though."

"I think...sparring with you and Itachi...just pisses me off more than everyone in the clan constantly comparing me to him."

"Language." I offered him my hand once more, and this time he took it with an eye roll.

We'd been practicing for a few hours, and we were appropriately dirty. Well, I should say Sasuke was. The only dirt I had on me was from when he ended up smearing what was on him onto my clothes. Overall, I was at least 5 times cleaner than he was. Amazingly, though, his hair wasn't at all disheveled. It actually kind of annoyed me how no matter what I did, I couldn't mess up his perfect hair. There was dirt and grass in it, for sure, but it still maintained that same shape of a duck's ass. As we made our way inside, Sasuke started to shake his hair out, much to the dismay of our mother, who had somehow materialized from thin air. "Sasuke, what have I told you about doing that in the house! Kami help me, you're absolutely _filthy_. Get undressed and go get in the bath."

She gave me a passing glare that promised a stern talking to later on. Either that, or laundry duty. God, I hated laundry duty. There were no automatic machines here, so everything was done by hand. Strangely enough, they have fabric softener to mix in with your water though, which wasn't really a thing until _after_ automatic machines came into existence in the real world. I guess I should probably stop referring to it that way, huh? I guess I don't really know if this planet is called Earth or not, so I could just say 'back on Earth'. Whatever, semantics.

I changed my own clothes and sat down in the living room, grabbing the remote for the TV. Yep, they have television services, but they don't have automatic washing machines. You figure that one out. I flipped through the channels, before eventually settling on a movie that was basically ninja-fied Jurassic Park. All in all, it wasn't a bad movie, at least no worse than the Earth version. Just as I started to really get into the movie, a familiar throat clear caught my attention. Crap. I muted the volume and turned to face my mother. She glared down at me. I stared back with the most neutral expression I could manage. "I understand you're trying to help your brother, but you're being too hard on him. There's a _reason_ the academy doesn't give second years any taijutsu training."

"He's an Uchiha. I'm sure he can handle it. I wouldn't be pushing him as hard as I am if it weren't absolutely certain he's capable of what I expect of him."

"Rokkuu, when you say that, you don't sound any better than everyone else who compares him to Itachi! Just because he's an Uchiha doesn't mean he's better than everyone else! You and Itachi are so upset that your father-"

"Fugaku." I corrected her with a cold tone of voice.

"_Your father_. Whether you like him or not, he is still your father, and he deserves some amount of respect. You and Itachi are so upset that he ignores Sasuke almost entirely, and that he writes him off for not being a carbon copy of Itachi, but what about you? What are you doing, constantly pressuring him about not being good enough?"

I clenched my fists and took a deep, silent breath through my nose. "You haven't the faintest clue what kind of things he's capable of. If you had _any_ idea-"

"Tadaima!"

Itachi's sudden entrance into the living room cut my sentence short. A good thing too. The air was still thick with tension, and Itachi's eyes darted back and forth between us, before walking up to our mother and pulling her into a hug. "You know Sasuke doesn't like it when you two fight."

"Okaeri, Itachi. Rokkuu and I are just having a bit of a..._disagreement_ about how hard he's been pushing Sasuke lately."

Itachi hummed softly. "Sasuke's far stronger than you give him credit for. I think you can trust Rokkuu's judgement on what he's able to handle. Don't worry so much."

Itachi let go of her and started rubbing her shoulders. She sighed softly and leaned back into him. "I just don't want him to feel ostracized. Yours is a hard shadow to get out of."

I stood and walked past the two of them into the hallway, headed towards my bedroom. "I'm going to lie down for a bit. Please call me when dinner's ready."

I could feel Itachi's eyes on my back as I walked down the hallway, and heard him let out a long sigh.

* * *

About 30 minutes or so after I retreated into my bedroom, I heard a knock on my door. I had been in the middle of meditating, and when I opened my eyes, Itachi was already standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his hands in his pockets. "So. Seems I was right to wait and see where that conversation was going to go."

I had suspected that he'd been home longer than he initially let on, but I wasn't anywhere near skilled enough to be able to sense him coming if he didn't want me to. I didn't respond, instead opting to go back to my meditation. He crossed the room and sat on my bed after closing the door, seemingly okay to wait until I was ready to speak. We sat in silence for another ten minutes, before I worked up the nerve to ask him a simple question. "Do you agree with what she said?"

"I don't think you, yourself, are strong enough to push Sasuke so hard that it's to his detriment. I do think that, no matter how we try to frame it, telling him that he still needs to improve is going to come across as an insult to him. That's partially due to everyone always comparing him to me, and partially due to his natural inability to take constructive criticism. He'll likely grow out of it in time, and if not, we can address it."

"It's hard. Having to hide things from her. Normally, I'd tell her anything and everything in a heartbeat, but this...and I almost did, too. I was so close to letting my temper get the better of me, and letting it cause me to spill everything."

"Have you considered confiding in her might be a good idea? You and I have no bearing on Fugaku's decisions. He sees us as insignificant tools, to be used to his advantage. But there's no doubt that he loves mother. She might be able to bend him to our will, and make him a useful ally. The more people on our side, the better."

"I already have you, I'm assuming you've told Shisui, and there's also Minato, Jiraiya, Kushina, and Hiruzen. How many more people do we need? We've got the political aspect totally covered, the shinobi continent's greatest spy working with us, and plenty of raw horsepower. Fugaku wouldn't add anything beneficial; he has no political pull, and even though he's Minato's close friend, there's no guarantee he'd be able to get us any special clearance for reconnaissance missions or anything of that nature."

Itachi crossed his arms and close his eyes, seemingly deep in thought. After a few moments, he sighed an opened his eyes. "I suppose you're right. And as greedy as he is for political power, he might even use this as a stepping stone for that. The massacre may have been prevented, at least to our knowledge, but he and the elders are still slightly at odds with the village council. He believes the clan should have even more pull than Minato has afforded us over the last 8 years. Honestly, I think he harbors a tiny amount of resentment toward Hiruzen and Minato over not being named the Fourth Hokage."

That was a good point that I hadn't even thought of, but nonetheless served to strengthen my opposing telling him. Fugaku Uchiha was many things, and the most prevalent trait he had was political greed. He wanted the best for the Uchiha clan, and for everyone else to have less than the Uchiha did. The other clans of the village wanted to be treated appropriately for being major clans, but were fine with that treatment being the same across all of them, as opposed to a hierarchy. Even the Hyuuga were open to the idea of there not being a huge disparity between them and the other clans, although the key word there was "huge", as opposed to "no disparity at all". It was kind of hilarious watching the Hyuuga and Uchiha go at it, but I wondered what would happen if Fugaku and Hiashi found out they were technically cousins.

"To answer your indirect question, yes I've told Shisui. A few years ago, in fact. It definitely took him by surprise, but he mostly seemed to believe what I told him. We haven't really discussed it since, though."

"I figured as much."

It was beneficial to have Shisui "in the know". Kotoamatsukami would prove to be a useful tool, if for no other reason than trying to bring Nagato to our side. Having two sets of Rinnegan would definitely be useful here. Oh, right, I didn't mention that yet, did I? I'm going to try and get Sasuke cleared for a Hashirama cell transplant at some point. It likely won't be until after his graduation, but that'll give him the Rinnegan earlier than the war, hopefully. I'll have to go through the Uchiha texts some more and see if there are any ways to awaken it besides just getting old. The Hyuuga might also have some documentation on it, but if they did, I doubt they would know or that I could get to it.

Itachi and I talked for a little while longer about his missions, until our mother called us out for dinner. It was a quiet affair, and Sasuke seemed concerned about the mild tension between mother and I, but he didn't say anything about it. Fugaku, as usual, barely acknowledged anyone, only asking Itachi how his recent missions had gone, and asking mother if anything exciting happened for her today. The rest of the meal went on in silence, and Fugaku called Itachi into his study afterwards. Sasuke and I helped mother clear the table and clean up, and a few hours later, everyone had turned in for the night.

* * *

I wasn't exactly sure where I was, but I knew that wherever it was, it wasn't real. I had that sense of fogginess in my head that you have whenever you dream, and I was moving slower than normal no matter how hard I tried to speed up. Glancing at my surroundings, I noticed I appeared to be in some kind of living room, or lounge. The furniture looked like something out of a medieval painting, carved out of dark cherry wood, and lined with plush red velvet padding, on top of similarly dark cherry floors. I slow motion walked over to a table, supported by ornately carved legs, and started to inspect it. It felt very heavy, and as I continued to look at it, I heard a door open and close. I turned to see a large set of oak doors, set in the middle of one of the red painted walls, and standing in front of them was...well, I don't know. The figure was shadowy and distorted, as if the light around them was being bent to conceal their identity. No matter how much I squinted and rubbed my eyes, I couldn't see them any more clearly. I tried calling out to them, and to my surprise, I actually was able to speak. "Who are you?"

"Hmm. I see. It appears your mind is still trying to keep us separated. How unfortunate. I had hoped that I would actually be able to talk to you, but it appears I haven't quite managed to link to your consciousness yet. In due time, I suppose. For now, you may take you leave."

"Wait, what are you-"

Before I could finish my question, the doors opened, and I was pulled through them by a powerful suction. As I fell into the seemingly endless void beyond the doors, I saw the light from the room grow farther and farther away, before disappearing entirely and plunging me into darkness. In what felt like an instant, I was sitting up in my bed, breathing quickly and clutching my blanket. After taking a moment to steady myself, I turned to look at my clock and saw that my alarm was just about to go off. Switching it off, I leaned back onto my pillows and ran my hands over my face, letting out a long sigh.

* * *

**Alright guys, I just wanted to say I appreciate all of your reviews so far. Even just the 9 I've received have been a huge encouragement! Also, I'm looking for someone to draw a story cover for the fic, and come up with some concept art for Rokkuu as I can't draw for shit. You'll be credited, of course. Check my profile for social media you can contact me on, or just PM me on here for me info.**

**Ciao,**

**-GN**


	5. The training begins

**The training begins  
**

* * *

_"What of your brother? Would you condemn him to serve your precious balance?" -_Crowfather

* * *

Miho Uchiha: My reasoning for considering putting Rokkuu with a one on one mentor is to give him time to just train out the ass. I don't want this to be like in canon where Team Seven barely skates through by the skin of their teeth. They get little to no training time before the Chuunin exams, and my plan is for Rokkuu to train Naruto and Sasuke a little before Team Seven is formed. Sakura...will be taking on a minor role. But I don't want to give away too much.

Kurotora: I kind of want to keep that a secret for now, but he will NOT be receiving Hashirama cells, and he will NOT receive Wood Release. He will, however, have three nature transformation affinities.

Guest: I'm going to be taking the power scale and cranking it WAY past 11 in this fic. Naruto and Sasuke will both be getting Wood Release at some point, to help with balancing later on.

Blaze2121: Rokkuu doesn't have his Sharingan in any form yet. That will be changing soon, though!

I noticed that I never pointed this out before, so I wanted to do so here:

_Italics_ within a single quotation '_like this'_ is thinking

_Italics_ outside of quotations, or in double quotations "_like this_" means I'm just putting an inflection on the word for emphasis, etc

_Bold Italics_ inside single quotations will be for Bijuu thinking, **'like this'**

**Bold Italics** outside of quotations, or in double quotations "_**like this**_" is Bijuu speak with an inflection.

Also, what do you guys think about the idea of me having a dictionary for techniques mentioned in the chapter at the end of each one? For example, **Rasengan (Great Spiraling Sphere): A violently rotating mass of heavily condensed chakra that grinds and shreds anything it touches, before exploding and sending the target flying.** Lemme know in reviews, PMs, etc!

* * *

If you were to ask someone to describe the interior of the headquarters for the ROOT division of Konoha's ANBU Black Ops force, one of three things would happen: They would look at you like you were crazy and say they had no idea what you were talking about, they'd stick a knife in your throat, or you'd be abducted sometime thereafter. As secretive as ANBU is, ROOT is 10 times more secretive than that. Most civilians thought ANBU was an urban legend, others that it was just another name for the Hokage's elite guard. Shinobi know very well that it's real and have a vague idea of what they do. But ROOT? If a civilian's heard of it, you can be assured that their death has already been planned. Same for a shinobi who hasn't been specifically filled in by the head operator.

It was in a room within ROOT's headquarters that we find that man. His skin had long since started to wrinkle and wear, crow's feet forming around his eyes that looked like they weren't open. You'd even find the occasional liver spot, if you could get close enough without dying. Such a task was certainly easier said than done, however, given that he was a student of the Nidaime Hokage himself, Tobirama Senju. He donned a standard white robe-like kimono, and wore heavy wooden sandals on his feet. Old age and experience in war had lead him to using a cane for assistance in walking, which he kept beside him at all times. Of course, being that he's a seasoned shinobi, the cane is also a sword, just a pull of the outer layer away from becoming a deadly weapon. A short trimmed head of black hair that showed mysteriously few signs of greying moved back and forth slightly as he continued to write on the scroll in front of him.

Danzo Shimura was many things. Most people would consider him a traitor of the village, in most regards, nd deep down, he knew that he was lucky his colleague, Hiruzen Sarutobi, allowed him to continue operating for so long uninhibited. Yet, he also held firm in his motto: The tree grows tall when the ROOTs run deep. Everything he did, he did for Konoha. He was loyal to the citizens of the village, be they born or unborn, not the Hokage. Not the Feudal Lord of Hi no Kuni. But rather, the village as an entity. Inciting war, some of which grew into the infamous Great Shinobi Wars, carrying out assassinations of entire clans, slowly wiping out and replacing sections of foreign governments. The list was as long as Konoha was wide. Maybe even longer. Yet in recent years, he'd been forced to make his operations even more secretive. The Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had given him a very clear warning: Cease all ROOT operations, or be killed by him personally. Danzo did not take the threat lightly, and Minato fired every single ANBU agent already employed under Hiruzen just to make sure Danzo didn't have control over any of them. Then, he turned every new agent on Danzo's trail. The purge was thorough...or so Minato thought.

For a time, Danzo did consider heeding Minato's words. After all, he was getting up there in age, and he could hardly trust anyone else to handle the things ROOT did. Nobody loved the village as much as he did, not even his sensei, Tobirama Senju, or his sensei's brother, Hashirama Senju. They had helped establish the village, they built it to what it was when Tobirama passed it off to Hiruzen. But Danzo was confident that his love for Konoha ran deeper than even theirs did. Since Danzo was convinced that there would never be a worthy successor, he had considered burning it all to the ground and living out his last 10 or 15 years of life in relative peace. Then, that illusions was shattered by a certain snake summoning Sannin. Orochimaru was insane, that much could be affirmed, but his knowledge was ever so useful to Danzo. And his expanding intelligence network. Orochimaru, before he had even left, had been working with Danzo. The elder believed that he could check and temper Orochimaru's insanity and bloodlust, at least enough for him to pass under Hiruzen's radar and not appear as a threat. He was wrong, and Orochimaru defected. Danzo knew that Orochimaru had a contingency plan, and upon a thorough ROOT-style investigation, he found he was more right than he originally believed. The Sannin had bases of some sort in almost all of the smaller countries separating the elemental nations, and had spies making frequent trips between them, and into the elemental nations themselves. It actually made Danzo a little proud.

When Orochimaru re-initiated contact, Danzo was willing to hear what he had to say, and they arranged a meeting. The snake proposed a partnership; Danzo would have his ROOT operative cover for Orochimaru, and continue to help him find new clans to do experiments on, and Orochimaru would lend him his spy network. Danzo found this arrangement agreeable, so long as it wasn't any of Konoha's citizens being used for the experiments, and the deal was finalized. This is how Danzo first discovered Akatsuki, by tracking Orochimaru to one of their hideouts. When Minato purged ROOT from Konoha, Orochimaru was less than pleased. Yet, instead of immediately withdrawing his agreement with Danzo, a new deal was formed instead. Orochimaru would help Danzo hide ROOT outside of the village, but still within the borders of Hi no Kuni. Which brings us back to the present, where Danzo was currently filling out a mission scroll to be sent to one of the barracks for ROOT. He sighed as he felt a familiar presence enter the room, undetectable by most people. "What is it, Orochimaru? I'm busy."

"I've come to negotiate some alterations to our little..._deal_."

The Sannin's voice almost sent a chill down Danzo's spine. Almost. He was certain that even a number of his operatives were cautious about interacting with Orochimaru, which was telling as to just how oppressive the snake's aura really was. He radiated danger and death, and made every alarm go off in your head screaming, "RUN! GET THE FUCK AWAY! DO NOT ENGAGE!" at top volume. Danzo didn't stop writing, instead giving a dismissive grunt. "I'm giving all I can offer at the moment. There's nothing more to be had on your end."

"Oh...but I think there is, Shimura-sama. I'm sure your spies have been keeping track of my experiments...and that they've told you I've developed a jutsu that allows me to transfer my soul to a new body."

Danzo's brow furrowed. That kind of power wasn't right for any mortal to have, even he wouldn't have accepted it if offered. Everyone has their time, and power must be checked with finite life and age. "So the rumors are true then."

"Quite. Now, the thing is, I developed this jutsu some time ago, with the intention of being able to live long enough to learn every jutsu in existence. Only problem is, at the rate I'm going, I'll be at this for a few centuries, easily."

"Your insecurity about lacking power is a glaring weakness, Orochimaru. I pity you sometimes, if I'm honest. But I'm not sure how I can help you learn jutsu faster. In my old age, you're far more intelligent than I."

"Well, Konoha just so conveniently happens to have a clan with a Kekkei Genkai that would allow me to do this. If I could get a body to swap into, that is. Or, you know...a few dozen."

Danzo's brush stopped mid-stroke. For the first time since their conversation began, he lifted his head to look at Orochimaru standing to his right, heavily encased in shadows. Danzo glared at him with his left eye, the right being covered in bandages. Hiding a precious secret. "Absolutely out of the question."

"My, my...quite a hypocrite, aren't we, Shimura-san? Tell me, why is your right eye bandaged so?"

Danzo flew out of his seat faster than anyone his age had any right doing. Orochimaru instinctively took a step back, as Danzo was now mere inches from his face. "Kagami gave me this eye on the battlefield. I destroyed the other. It's been used in the conditioning of my agents, and if I had the chakra reserves to be able to use his Mangekyou, the village would never have to worry about losing another war again! _For you to even insinuate_..."

Orochimaru took on a submissive demeanor to appease the elderly man. "Forgive me, Shimura-san. I meant no ill will. Yet, even you must admit that to guard the Sharingan so closely while wielding one yourself is a bit...well, it's a bit unbecoming, wouldn't you say?"

"This has nothing to do with the Sharingan itself. It has to do with it potentially falling into enemy hands. Of the random people you enslave learning its secrets, and spilling them to other villages."

Orochimaru continued to plead his case, but Danzo was having none of it. After a few moments, a small group of ROOT agents appeared in the room, and the Sannin took that as his cue to make an exit. Danzo let out an aggravated sigh, before returning to his paperwork and dismissing the agents.

* * *

Well, it was official. I was totally bored out of my mind.

Classes had let out early so the school staff could attend a meeting, so I was left to my own devices far earlier than usual. Itachi was doing ANBU stuff, or out with Shisui. Maybe both? Mother was out running errands, and Fugaku was holed up in his study. It was in this kind of situation where one might suggest hanging out with friends. Small problem with that...I didn't really have any. Turns out spending most of your time training with your older brother and cousin, and the rest of it studying and babysitting your younger brother, resulted in a not so developed social life. Maybe I should work on that. I internally snorted at the thought. I wasn't the social type before, either, and that was when I had literally nothing better to do other than socialize with others. I did have friends, I was just definitely more of a "meet up every few weeks or months" type of guy. Now that the literal fate of the planet rested on my shoulders, not to humble brag or anything, I didn't exactly feel any more compelled to spend time connecting with others.

Still. Sitting in a tree in my backyard, juggling kunai wasn't exactly the most entertaining alternative. Just as I thought that, I heard the back door open, and Itachi walked out into the yard. I caught my kunai by the handle and hurled it at him, only to lose a tuft of hair as he seamlessly caught it, spun into the momentum of my throw, and hurled it back at me. "You know, sometimes I wonder if that humility of yours is just for show, and deep down you're a smug, pompous show-off."

I hopped down from the tree, holstering the kunai, and punctuated my remark with a faux glare. He laughed and waved me inside. "I guess you'll never truly know. Now come on, we're going to the lake."

I tilted my head to the side, before remembering that I still hadn't started my training for **Hosenka**. I hurried after him with a newfound spring in my step, earning an eye roll from the prodigy of prodigies. Even at just shy of 14 years of age, Itachi was still more than skilled enough to be a tutor to a genin squad if he wanted to. He soaked up information like a sponge, and had the chakra reserves and speed to back it all up. Although, being a Ninja wasn't just about learning oodles of techniques and having enough chakra to use the really huge ones multiple times. That was an acceptable approach, and it was the basis behind canon Naruto's fighting style, but even better was strategy and intelligence _combined_ with S rank jutsu spam. Itachi, even now, could likely toss around at least two S ranks, and a C rank or three after that, before he would get to low on chakra to use Ninjutsu, but what made that even more deadly was his strategy, part of which was that he was able to predict outcomes. Give him a few minutes in battle with someone, and he'll have an accurate enough mapping of how they react to specific stimuli to know what they'll do in response to any of his or other people's attacks. And then he can manipulate them accordingly.

This was most prevalent in this world's version of chess/checkers: Shogi. Itachi would, hands down, beat me every time unless I looked up a specific strategy and followed it to the letter. Even then, it wouldn't guarantee me a win, it would just get me out of guaranteed loss territory. I had a chance at first, but after a few matches with me, he easily picked apart my preferred pieces, preferred arrangements of those pieces, pushed me into using strategies I wasn't comfortable or familiar with, then once I got more used to trying out completely new strategies, further dissected how I implemented them. If I just free ball the match without any "predetermined" strategy in mind, I will lose. It's the most infuriating thing ever. This is what made Itachi, and for that matter, Shisui, so deadly. Both were crazy intelligent and good at learning their enemies, and then once they had them figured out and knew how they'd react to whatever offensive maneuvers, it was as simple as manipulating their opponents into doing specific things that created openings for specific, very powerful attacks. Something that normally requires a full squad, they could each do on their own.

It was for that reason that I was so excited to learn from him. I'd been smart in my previous life, or at least ahead of those around me in a few subjects, and I felt like at least some of that carried over into this life. However, I was nowhere near Itachi's level, and while psychological analysis to the extent he can do it is mostly dependent on natural affinity, I was certain I could get at least some sort of grasp on it through training. Before I could start that, however, I had to get better at chakra control and learn some basic Ninjutsu techniques. Which brought us to where we were now, at the lake near the Uchiha compound, standing on the same dock we were a few days prior. Itachi set down the canteens and medical supplies he brought with him, then gestured for me to pay attention. "The trick to **Hosenka** is basically just rapidly creating multiple smaller, weaker, more condensed **Goukakyuu**. And instead of a continuous stream of flames that eventually expands into an orb-like shape, you're spitting multiple bursts of flame."

"Ah, like my mix tape."

"Your what?"

"Nothing, carry on."

Itachi gave a slight shake of his head, before weaving the hand seals for the jutsu. Rat, tiger, dog, ox, rabbit, tiger... What came next was basically a semi-automatic pistol barrage of fireballs so volatile, they exploded when they made contact with the water. Little steam pockets rose from where they made contact, and Itachi motioned for me to try. "Knead and mould several chakra 'lumps' in your lungs in small, roughly spherical shapes. From there, as I said, it's basically like **Goukakyuu** in that you're making the chakra ignite your breath as soon as it leaves your mouth. But instead of a continuous stream, cut it off the second you see fire."

I nodded, and began weaving the hand seals. I inhaled, channeled and shaped the chakra in my lungs, and let out the first burst of air. I saw a burst of orange and felt intense heat, so I cut the chakra flow. Instead of a small fireball coming out of my mouth, I just ended up letting out a small puff of fire. I tried again with the second burst, and this time it actually formed a fireball, but instead of an actual fireball, it was more like a comet, complete with a tail. Three more tries, and I was out of breath. They had varying levels of success; the third one ended up looking more like a flaming loogie, and didn't carry very far. The fourth was pretty much the right shape, but too small, and the fifth one was the same way, just slightly bigger. For reference, the clan standard for fireball size is roughly the size of a soccer ball. Apparently that was the size where you were getting the most damage compared to chakra input. Mine were coming out smaller than my fist.

I kept practicing for a little under an hour, when my chakra reserves made it clear that there would be no more jutsu cast for the rest of the day. I flopped down onto the dock, graciously accepting the canteen offered to me, and drank with gusto. It was weird, even though once you got the hang of using one or two of them fire jutsu don't usually hurt you, it seemed like my throat was dryer than it ever was during something like normal taijutsu training. I asked Itachi about his missions, to which he responded with half answers and evasions. 'Not a high enough clearance to hear about them', he says. Like I'm gonna jump ship and start helping Obito and the Akatsuki, or run to one of the other villages with a bunch of classified information. I rolled my eyes and leaned back against one of the wooden posts supporting the dock, closing my eyes and enjoying the heat from the sun. After about half an hour, we started heading back to the house, and as we were walking, I saw a familiar pipsqueak sneaking his way across the rooftops.

Itachi turned to see that I had stopped and was staring up at seemingly nothing. "What is it?"

"You go on ahead without me, I'm pretty sure I just saw Sasuke running towards the lake. I'm gonna go see what he's up to."

I gave a two finger salute over my shoulder and started back towards the lake, pushing my chakra signature down as I did. Sasuke likely wouldn't be able to sense me coming, seeing as he wasn't a sensory ninja, and the chakra sensing abilities of a non-sensory are far weaker than someone who is, much less when they're only 8 going on 9. That being said, it was still a good way to practice my stealth, so I decided to go all in with it. As I weaved through the trees surrounding the lake, my suspicions were confirmed. Sasuke was standing on the dock, pulling supplies out of a bag. Bandages, what looked like burn cream...

"Well I'll be damned..." He was getting ready to practice fire jutsu, probably **Goukakyuu**. I wondered if Fugaku showed him the hand seals, and just as I was mulling over who else might have shown him, an ear piercing roar split through the air. My face was hit by a wall of intense heat, hot enough that it actually stung a little, and as I shielded my eyes to see what was going on, my jaw slowly dropped. In front of me was, by far, one of the largest, hottest fireballs I'd ever seen someone create. It was as big as the ones Itachi showed me during my training! Granted, I don't think Itachi was putting full effort into those fireballs, but still. If Sasuke was already matching Itachi's half effort jutsu at just 9 years old...

_What the hell was it gonna look like when he got older?!_

* * *

**Heeeeeyyyyy guys...long time no read. Sorry this took so long, I hit a major case of writer's block for this chapter. Turns out writing good filler/bridge chapters to connect gaps in the story is harder than it sounds. Dunno when the next chapter will be out, but hopefully it won't be as long! Until next time.**

**Ciao,**

**-GN**


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